The last banditry attack that occurred in Niger state was sordid as victims are still recuperating from the attacks. Adeloje Ojo writes
At the amenity ward of the General Hospital Erena, five-year-old boy, Ibrahim Ishaku, laid his fractured leg on a pillow with his father sitting beside his bed. The boy gazed at Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state and shook his head in response to the commiseration by the governor who was on sympathy visit to the victims of the heinous attack by bandits in Shiroro local government of the state.
Ibrahim according to his father, Mallam Ishaku, got a fractured leg inside a stampede that erupted from sounds of sporadic gunshots by the gun men as everyone ran for cover.According to mallam Ishaku, “My son was not shot by the bandits, he began to run for his dear life when we heard gun shots everywhere in Kwaki village. He fell in the stampede as a result of which fleeing people stepped on and broke his leg without stopping to help. I heard his cry for help and went to pick him to hurry out of danger.”
Blueprint learnt that there were several other kids not lucky to survive the onslaught of the bandits in the Kwaki villages like Ibrahim. Some of his mates were said to have met their sudden death in the hands of the assailants with their stomachs ripped opened with gun bayonets or slaughtered.
However, the case of the five-year-old boy could be said to be minor compared with the grievous harm done by the invading gunmen in the eight communities of Shiroro Llocal government in which scores were killed and over 2,400 villagers displaced penultimate week. It was learnt that even Governor Bello could not hold back his emotions at the sight of the displaced villagers taking refuge at a camp in Erena during the visit. Blueprint learnt that as soon as he arrived the IDP camp, the internally displaced villagers began to pour out their sorrows, bitterness, narrating harrowing experiences in tears to him.
In his grieve, Governor Bello assured the victims that government was taking urgent steps towards tackling the banditry attacks, adding that security in the affected areas has been reinforced and strengthened to subdue the bandits while also advising the IDPs to return to their deserted communities.He reassured residents of the state that his administration remains committed to securing the lives and properties of the citizens and commended the joint military taskforce for the prompt intervention in bringing peace to the communities
Blueprint however learnt that there was mixed reaction by the displaced persons on the advice of the governor to return home. While some were eager to return to continue farming activities, others swore never to return home out of fear, arguing that their communities have been turned into execution grounds by the bandits. One of the victims who was shot in the leg, Teni Maiagwan from Ajatawyi village said it would be suicidal for him to return to his village with a foot when the security situation was still very dicey. He said, “I have appealed to the governor not to send us back to the communities because we suspect that the bandits are still lurking in the shadows to hack us down. Yes, it is true that the presence of security is heavy in the area for now but what happened if the bandits launch surprise attack after we return? Some of us are already too weak to run for escape.”
Recounting his ordeal, Maiagwan explained that he saw the bandits coming into Ajatawyi village but mistook them for Fulani men adding, “When I saw the type of sophisticated riffles with microscope in their hands, I knew something was fishing and took to my heels. They began to shoot sporadically everywhere. I fell as I was running and felt sharp pains in my leg, I prayed for Allah to save me as I crawled into safe distance.”He appealed to the state government to provide lasting solution to the problem of banditry in the area which, he said, had persisted for over two years.
Sen Umaru takes a swipe at gov’t
It was learnt that while the injured victims were nursing their wounds and the bereaved mourning the dead, government came out with the agenda to conceal the actual casualty figure from the attacks. This apparently drew the ire of Senator David Umaru who was then representing the area under Niger East Senatorial District at the National Assembly. He blew the lid opened announcing 69 as dead victims. This, however, did not go down well with the state government who challenged the figure, insisting not more than 12 died from the attack. The drama over controversial figure presented by government came to the peak when Governor Abubakar upon his visit to the IDP camp last week confirmed 37 dead and 27 injured contrary to 12 dead earlier claimed by his permanent secretary, Aliyu Ekan. Blueprint learnt that a war of words has since erupted between the state government and Senator Umaru with accusations and counter accusations. While the government is accusing the senator for playing politics and wanting to portray the state as insecure in the eyes of the world, Umaru, on his part, insisted that the government is insensitive to the plight of the people. In a statement he issued in Minna in response to accusations from the state government, he insisted that discrepancies in the figure of the dead announced by the government showed that it was not in touch with the people but rather attempting to conceal the facts of the gruesome massacre of the villagers. According to him, “For any serious and concerned government, this should have been a period of mourning; a time for introspection and strategising to be proactive so as to forestall further and future occurrences instead of indulging in pettiness.”
APC/NSEMA to the rescue
Checks revealed that outside the exchange of banter between the senator and the government, relief materials have continued to pour in into the IDPs camp from stakeholders and public spirited individuals including the state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The state chairman of the party, Engineer Mohammed Jibrin Imam, in donating relief materials on Thursday assured the displaced persons that the administration is determined to protect lives and property of citizens. He explained that the donation of food stuffs and detergents was to augment government efforts at making the victims comfortable in the camp before returning to their homes.
He re-echoed Governor Bello’s earlier call for them to return to their deserted homes, explaining that the villages have been secured from the bandits. The Niger state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) is said to have also delivered relief materials worth over N20 million to the victims. The director general of the agency, Abdulsalam Zumba, told journalists that the state government was quick in responding to the plight of the victims in ensuring that they get essential services including medications and feeding.
We fear for food crisis – Displaced person
However, some of the displaced people who spoke with our correspondent said although government had provided enough food for them at the camp for now, their concern was mainly about the possibility of famine next year if cogent security measures are not taken them to return to their farms. Danjuma displaced from Barden Dawaki village said in an interview, “Honestly, we appreciate the efforts of government in providing for us at this camp but you know that we are farmers and needed to be in the farms instead of here. This is planting season and if we are not able to attend to our farms now, there will be no harvest next year and that will bring us starvation.”
He lamented that apart from stealing/rustling thousands of cows from the villagers, the bandits have also destroyed their farm lands by feeding the animals with growing crops. Danjuma explained that there might be food crisis in the state next year due to the massive destruction of farm crops by the bandits.
It was learnt that the bandits have been hibernating in Mallawa- Duremi Adagu forest which formed the Kogama game reserve from where they have been launching attacks on the surrounding communities for the past two years.
Mohammed Abdullahi from Alawa village corroborated this in an interview stressing the need for security to comb the forest to flush out the criminals, He suggested that the federal government should as a matter of urgency allow farmers to use the forest in order to keep off the bandits.
It is, however, pertinent for the state government to prevail on the police and military to establish more permanent structures in the general area of Kwaki – Chukuba ward and the surrounding Alawa communities as security measure to ensure lasting peace in that part of the state.
